A Strong touch

After a while James said: “You have no idea who I am, do you? “ But he told her not to apologise, it was he who should apologise, and that in future he’d make sure employees were taught who their managers were.”

The man who transformed TAA into Australian Airlines, and then merged Qantas with Australian Airlines, James Strong, who died away on March 3 from lung complications following surgery, was a transformative figure in the Australian airline industry – IATA director general, Tony Tyler, declared simply that “the aviation industry has lost one of its heroes, a true global leader”. But Strong has been remembered as much for his human touch as his stewardship of Qantas Airways.

Said Joyce, speaking at Strong’s funeral in Sydney, “He always made time for a chat and made people feel special. James also pushed his managers out to the front line, sometimes to talk, but mostly to listen. He proved that once management set the broad strategy, many of the detailed solutions would come from the employees themselves, those who knew and dealt with customers every day.”

Joyce said many had written to express their fondness and admiration for Strong.

“James was a hero on the ground as well. Those at Qantas who worked with James back at Australian Airlines, and many others, have written to express their respect, gratitude, pride and deep affection.”

Remarked close friend, corporate lawyer, Future Fund chairman and David Gonski, Strong’s seemingly effortless climb to the top not only in business, but also in the arts and sports administration, was due to a “first-rate mind, hard work and a very nice way with people”.

“James was just a joy to work with; it didn’t matter if you were on his side or opposed to him in a transaction,” Gonski told The Australian. “You always knew that you were dealing with a decent person with the utmost integrity.”

Born in 1944, James Strong grew up in Lismore, New South Wales. He was educated at Lismore and Tenterfield High Schools and at the age of 16 he entered the Royal Military College at Duntroon. But not warming to the strict command structure, he bowed out before completing his fourth year. From Duntroon Strong completed his studies at the University of Queensland and the University of Sydney where he qualified as a barrister and was admitted to the Bar in 1976.

His first job, however, was as site manager for Nabalco and later in 1983 he made good use of that interest and knowledge as head of the Australian Mining Council.

In 1986 Strong’s interest in aviation landed him the chief executive’s job at Trans Australian Airlines where he started a revolution with the controversial name change to Australian Airlines. He also introduced business class – a move not copied by Ansett Airlines which cost it business.
Joyce said Strong had done a brilliant job at Australian Airlines. “He had taken a loss-making, bloated enterprise, modernised its name, look and culture, and created a dynamic new force in air travel.”

Strong left Australian Airlines in 1989 – before the pilots’ strike. In 1991, he became Chairman of Partners for the law firm Coors Chambers Westgarth and in 1992 managing director of DB Breweries Group in New Zealand.

In 1993 he was lured back to the airline industry when he was appointed by the government as chief executive and managing director of Qantas. He held this position until 2001.

But Joyce said Strong’s appointment drew criticism.

“Controversy erupted. The newspapers said he was either too tough, or too smooth, or both. A fight broke out in Federal Cabinet, and Prime Minister Paul Keating had to push through the appointment.

“One detractor even declared that James was a Ken Doll – too good-looking to be head of Qantas. Everyone knew that James had done a brilliant job at Australian Airlines but Qantas was another matter.

“With the airline heading into its biggest transformation since it was founded in 1920, this was the hardest job in aviation and one of the toughest in corporate Australia. How James succeeded is a lesson in leadership.

“He overhauled his management team, seeking out managers who met his three criteria: They had to be ‘hands on’. They had to have a sense of urgency. And they had to have a sense of excitement about what Qantas could be. He found a way to bring together the two warring tribes – Australian Airlines and Qantas.

“His genius was to understand that the best way to do this was to get everyone focused on the future.

“As he said, ‘jointly working on new and exciting things, because that’s how you stop people looking backwards’.”

“Most of all, he reached out to frontline staff. As a pragmatist and humanist, theories of management were always less important to James than people. He was out and about.”

“…this was the hardest job in aviation and one of the toughest in corporate Australia.”
Joyce

Joyce said: “James made Qantas ready for the future, uniting the tribes into one cohesive whole, building a stronger business, investing in our great brand, and leading Qantas through its successful rebirth as a public company.”

Joyce added that aviation is an industry with very long lead times, and decisions made in one era, for better or worse, can resonate down many years.
“It was James who forged the ground-breaking Joint Services Agreement between Qantas and British Airways in 1997. That arrangement was so good for Qantas and our passengers, that it continued in its original form for more than 15 years, in fact right up until the end of this month.”

According to Joyce, Strong was also a moderniser “and always knew that changing times call for new approaches”.

“He was instrumental in Qantas Board support for the next great transformative event in the life of Qantas – our new partnership with Emirates – which launches at the end of this month.

“And it was James who boldly ordered the world’s leading aircraft, the A380, in the year 2000.”

Strong left Qantas in 2001 and for 12 years was chairman of Woolworths. The motor-sports and mountain-climbing enthusiast was chairman of outdoor equipment retailer Kathmandu Holdings Ltd at the time of his death, and chaired the organising committee for the 2015 Cricket World Cup and V8 Supercars auto racing series.

He was chairman of the Australia Council for the Arts and a board member of the Sydney Writers’ Festival. In 2006 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia “for service to business and commerce, particularly in the aviation, insurance and retail fields, and to the arts as an administrator and philanthropist”.

From 2006 he was a non-executive board member at Qantas. He was also a former chairman and national director of the Australian Institute of Company directors, where he promoted the employment of more female directors. According to The West Australian, John Colvin, the institute’s managing director, hailed him as “one of the outstanding business leaders of his generation”. Formula One racing driver Mark Webber paid tribute in a tweet: “He was very special towards my junior racing career. Great guy. Will be missed.”

Summing up, The Australian quoted investment banker Simon Mordant saying he could not think of a “better all-rounder” than Strong. “James was a real gentleman and a man of enormous integrity, a leader with great passion for business, the arts, sport and his family.”

Alan Joyce said he had the privilege of working with Strong since he became a Board Director of Qantas in 2006.

“For me he was a mentor and a model of corporate leadership. Whenever James spoke, everyone listened. He knew exactly what would or wouldn’t work. I valued his insights, his breadth of knowledge, his wise counsel. Finally, James showed all of us a better way to be, a bigger way.”

“He was a true gentleman but also a fighter; an opera buff and a rev-head; mountain climber and bookworm; businessman and dreamer. Yes, he was both tough and smooth! And always a class act.”

“He was both tough and smooth. And always a class act.”
Joyce

James Strong – A personal reflection

When news was sent to me by a media colleague about James Strong’s death, it immediately brought me back to the days I worked in Qantas public affairs and the dealings I had with James as we all became accustomed to post-privatisation sensitivities, reform and a new public image liberated of government shackles.

There was absolutely no doubt the sartorial CEO was an astute, empathetic and visionary leader. As with any CEO, whether in aviation or elsewhere, some of his decisions were prone to criticism. Being a CEO, as I discovered later in my career, can be a very lonely place, with downward pressure from a board and even greater pressure from below, especially when reform is on the agenda.

Even without that personal experience, I recall the respect I gained for the way James managed to balance these complex manifold issues. There were no shop-floor brawls in heated industrial negotiations and little visible animosity for the way the airline was being managed. Things just happened.
What it proved to me was the strength of people surrounding a CEO was the strength that enabled a CEO to perform their duties. But to effectively orchestrate those strengths demanded an aptitude that James had in plentiful supply.

As he did passion. There was nothing James was not passionate about in his day-to-day routine. Whether it was announcing a new route, new products and marketing campaigns or more utilitarian but increasingly important matters such as annual reporting under regulatory guidelines, James was firm in his views but guided them with a level of personal interest uncommon in CEOs. His ‘feel’ for the aviation business was uncanny, but it’s what made him the successful – if enigmatic – leader he was.

I had the opportunity to help arrange and manage from a public affairs perspective the launches of services to Shanghai, the first generation of lie-flat sleeper seats in first class and celebrations in London to mark the 50th anniversary of the Kangaroo Route – The Longest Hop. On each occasion, while these events were led by James’ long-time friend and consummate marketing professional Ken Groves, I had the opportunity to work alongside James and came to understand him a little more.

There were very few in the airline that could claim to truly know him, but the brief insight I gained was of a person with ideals in belief, betterment and – importantly – the company staff.

There were very very few of the staff and managers I met who did not share the vision – engineers, flight attendants, route analysts, marketeers and regional managers.

At the time I was with Qantas, the public affairs department was admittedly not overly popular – highly selective in its media dealings and it adopted an overtly defensive posture with those not deemed worthy of lesser effort. It may have had something to with James’ own aloofness around media, though he was a seasoned and accomplished performer when required. The double-act of him and Geoff Dixon at news conferences was something to behold. Their individual and collective force, especially when confronted with delicate subjects, was a joy and spectacle for a public affairs person new to the industry.

However, as I came to learn, when I received praises from James for various projects I worked him to help create and bring to fruition, it came in the form of hand-written letters. That was the measure of the man. Equally, when I encountered his wrath I felt it.

But it was all things in balance. A quiet, unflappable and measured balance that had the 20,000-strong company staff in unison and in belief.

Julian Green